NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In women with breast cancer, a
radiation technique called intensity-modulated radiation
therapy (IMRT) reduces the incidence of radiation-induced
dermatitis, compared to conventional radiation, research shows.

About one third of breast cancer patients develop
significant skin reactions after radiation therapy, often due
to uneven distribution of radiation to the breast. Breast IMRT
is a novel technique that delivers a more even dose of
radiation throughout the breast relative to conventional
radiation therapy. IMRT, unlike conventional radiation, tailors
the dose of radiation to the three-dimensional shape of the
tumor.

In a study of 170 women who had breast IMRT and 161 who had
standard radiation therapy as part of a randomized trial,
researchers observed that far fewer women in the breast IMRT
arm than the standard radiation arm experienced scaling or
peeling at the site of radiation.

Breast IMRT also led to a "dramatic improvement" in the
distribution of radiation to the breast compared with standard
radiotherapy, Dr. Jean-Philippe Pignol from Sunnybrook Health
Sciences Centre, Toronto, Canada and colleagues report.

ADVERTISEMENT

This improvement translated into a significant 17 percent
absolute reduction in the frequency of scaling and peeling
skin.

In a report of the study in the Journal of Clinical
Oncology, Pignol and colleagues conclude that as breast IMRT
becomes more widely available, it "should be offered" to women
instead of conventional radiation therapy.